The folks at ShapeRideShoot had the opportunity to shoot and ride with Floriane Pugin from DH team Scott 11. They followed her during a training session in Morzine shredding it on the 2013 Scott Gambler. They were also able to ask Floriane a few questions about herself and her current health following a difficult 2012 that included 3 injuries. Continue reading for the interview with Floriane Pugin!

Official Video description: Our policy is shape, ride and shoot. It means that our free time is shared between some work on trails near the house, some ride with the friends and some video shooting with people we met. But sometimes we get very lucky because we can ride with World Cup pilots like Floriane Pugin from team Scott 11. It has also been a great honor when she said ok to take a few days with us to make a short clip with her new Scott Gambler 2013.

Official Video description: Best moment when you go riding is for sure the moment when you find your friends on the spot. At this time you remember every sessions with them and you know that you will have a lot of fun shredding. This video is just about friends having fun on there bikes between Morzine and Morgins.

Interview with Floriane Pugin:

Present yourself in a few worlds.Floriane Pugin, 23 years old, dh mtb rider, riding for Scott11 since 2010, studying engineering (master degree graduation next year), fan of several outdoor sports such as skiing, mountaineering, …

Where do you live?In Cranves-Sales city! Which is in “la Yaute”, not far from Châtel, Morzine, Les Gets, and the secret sick trails my friends build all around here

Where do you ride?I like to change a lot, from the high way track in Morzine, to the steepy, muddy, trails in Châtel or Morgins, through the nice bits in le Salève or the secret trails in “la Vallée Verte”.

Who do you prefer ring with?With the crazy dudes from ShapeRideShoot and the kids from Evian, mates from Annecy and with my brother who doesn’t race but love to ride dh as well. And it’s awesome to ride with the team too, following (or trying to follow) Brendan is unbelievable, it brings the riding to an other dimension, with the smile to the top of your ears! And we share some nice whip sessions with Emi ^^

When did you start with Scott11?I started with Scott11 in 2010. My previous team was not going to continue so I searched for an other team, trying a bit of everywhere. I have to say it’s very hard to find a team that welcomes women so when Claudio called me back with a “yes”, I was very glad! It was and still is an awesome adventure and we share great moments.

UCI wants to change the system of points awarded for girls in World Cup circuit. We saw you wearing the blue stripe in Norway, you want to say something about that?Yes, all the girl from the World Cup circuit had decided to wear this blue stripe as a sign of protest but also as a wish of more recognition. It seams that nowadays, girls are gently asked to step back from the scene, to make it more showy, to attract more media. I understand the will to go to an elitist group, to give a stronger image of our sport but I truly think that girls must be part of it. The men’s level is growing but the women’s too and we can see amazing finals!

Is it easy for a girl to find her place in the circuit?Yes and no. As we’re not so many, we quickly know each other and we can quickly come to the front of the scene (it was my case), but it doesn’t mean that it’s easy to find support (far from that actually). There are many girls who ride fast but don’t have the support they deserve. It’s the case in France as well as abroad. I would like to thank all the teams that helped me out from the beginning, without them, I wouldn’t be here today!

Does girls are as popular as men?No, guys are way more in the spotlight. But it’s also how is our sport, they ride faster than us, they’re stronger and crazier maybe, we try to catch up but when we progress, they progress as well! They have also more fame because the public is more male, but it’s maybe changing a little bit because many girls are coming to the sport, you can really see that when you go to resorts like Morzine, Châtel and they are not just rolling down the hill!

How does your family live your passion for DH? Fears? Supports? Joy?They support me a lot, and it has been like that since I was born. My decisions have always been in my hands, but as soon I made them, I had all my friends and family to help me to accomplish my goals and wishes. My mum always said “as long as you don’t hurt yourself too much, you can continue” but she couldn’t stand by the track during the race, she prefers to stay in the finish area They’re always here when it counts (from the highest joy to the deepest sad moments).

You rode a Voltage DH in 2011 but now you ride only the new Gambler. Is it a good bike for you?I truly love this new bike, it was made from all our feedbacks and we’re all very happy with it. I’m just disappointed that I was injured too much this season and didn’t get enough time to ride with it! It’s the first bike I ride that I helped to developped and it’s a nice sensation.

2012 had been a sad year for you with a lot of injuries. What next?Yes I can say that 2012 was the year without, but it didn’t kill my motivation so I will race 2013, to make the most of it, more fun, more ride and we’ll just see how it goes with the results. My main goal is to keep the smile on my face the whole year

What happened in your head when you got injured?Many things, especially when it happens 3 times in a season… It was a very tough season for me, you try to come back from injury, you’re come back up to the nice steps and boom, you crash again and hurt yourself. You’re low again and all the work you’ve done has vanished in a thousands of a sec… You take a deep breath, push back up, feel great, and booom, crash again… I was almost happy that the season ended because I was getting tired of doing my best to come back quickly and hurt myself again. Now I have all the time I need to get ready for next year, with no rush and fun first, as it should be! I’ve been quite lucky before without any injuries but I’ve catched it up this year. Hopefully, I’ve fulfilled the quota

How can you overcome your fears to get back to the top?It starts from knowing why you want to ride, to race. When you know this and you know that you want to come back, then you do all what it takes to get back to speed. I don’t really focus on my fears, I prefer to focus on the fun I have on my bike and my fears disappear by themselves by riding and riding. You find your confidence back and the speed but it’s quite hard when you’re in the middle of the season, knowing that you need to be ready in two weeks…

What are you doing to train yourself?Gym, road riding, XC, BMX, running and lots of skiing in the winter (freeriding and ski touring with some steep couloirs),… Yes, a bit of everything!

If you have to choose only one race in the year, which one will you pic?Champéry! To take my revenge (strong cerebral commotion at the 2011 World Champs)… I think each season, it would be the World Champs anyway, it didn’t work that well for me (except in Junior) but it’s such a big event, everything is played in one race, even one run, it must be the perfect run, where you give everything you have and the atmosphere is crazy.

Your best memory?Crossing the line in Leogang in 2012 and seeing the green and number 1 in front of my name!!

And the worst?I don’t remember it that well because I’ve forgot more than one day but my crash in Champéry and all the things around that crash was definitely the worst moment I’ve lived.

Describe your way of riding.Flowy I’d say, I like to go as fast as I can while staying precise and not too noisy.

Your brother brought you to the DH. How it goes with your brother since he can no longer follow you?Haha, he will not be happy to read this ^^ We still ride together when I’m around and we have loads of fun!

Someone you admire?Everyone that lives its dreams and do all what it takes to make them come true.

A place you are dreaming to go to?For riding, I’d like to go to Whisther and New Zealand, everyone who’ve been there say it’s the place to be, so I need to try I also love to travel without bikes to get to know the country and the culture, they’re so many place to see that I couldn’t choose only one!

Any others hobbies?Skiing!!!! I might like skiing as much as I like riding DH

If you have to choose between ski and DH?Why would I choose, ski in the winter, dh in the summer! Those two sports are very complementary. Yes, skiing helps me riding dh faster!

What couldn’t you live without?I couldn’t live without fun!

Your strengths?Optimist, good mechanical knowledge to understand how my bike and things in general work.

Your weakness?Think maybe a bit too much sometimes.

Some regrets?No regrets!

Your policy?“Ride & Smile”

Any thanks?My sponsors, my team, my whole family and my friends who helped me so much during this tough year and who were there to support me from the very begining.

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